Russian-linked forces in Mali are increasingly coming under attack from armed groups that are adapting to the drone age. Two recent incidents in the Kidal region, a March 30 strike near Anéfis and an April 7 attack on a camp in Aguelhok, are evidence of a clear...
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Niger Turns to Local Self-Defense Units to Contain Growing Insecurity
Niamey's decision to formalize local self-defense units called Domol Leydi is the latest sign that Niger's security crisis has worsened, moving beyond a conventional counterterrorism problem and into a broader struggle for territorial control. The government says the...
West Africa: Jihadist Attacks Intensify in Northern Benin Amid Cross-Border Insurgency Pressure
Armed attacks attributed to Sahel-based jihadist groups have intensified in northern Benin in recent weeks, highlighting the continued spread of militant activity along the country’s borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. On March 4, fighters linked to the Group for the...
Desert Locusts Stir Fresh Worries in North-West Africa
Agricultural authorities in several parts of North and West Africa are maintaining surveillance for desert locust activity following recent reports of small swarms detected near Algeria’s southwestern border. The monitoring reflects the importance of the western...
Mali Army, Russian Allies Accused of Executing Civilians Near Mauritania Border
Malian troops and their Russian allies are accused of executing refugees and civilians near the Mauritanian border, according to RFI. The French media outlet said seven people who had just crossed from Mauritania into Mali were killed on Friday, March 6, in the Ahl El...
Niger: Armed Attacks Target Military Bases in Tahoua
In the early hours of March 9, 2026, armed militants launched coordinated assaults on military facilities in Tahoua, a city in northwestern Niger located about 500 kilometers east of Niamey. The attacks targeted both the local airport and nearby military...
Benin Soldiers Mount Brief Coup Attempt
Benin’s government says it has put down a brief but serious military uprising after soldiers appeared on state...
West Africa: Allegations of Staged Military Takeover Cloud Guinea-Bissau’s Electoral Crisis
Guinea-Bissau, a small West African nation of 2.2 million people sandwiched between Senegal and Guinea, has been...
Mauritania’s Former President Loses Final Appeal, Will Serve 15 Years
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who led Mauritania from 2009 to 2019, has lost his final appeal and will serve 15 years in...
Africa: Competition between France and Russia over Africa is getting more violent
By Barbara Debou: On a night in early March, arsonists attacked a brewery owned by the French drinks giant Castel in...
Sahel: Secretary Blinken visits Niger as US worries about Russia’s expanding influence in the Sahel
By Shaun Tandon: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Niger on Thursday for a rare visit to a country seen...
Mali junta cracks down on social media influencers, arrests Rokia Doumbia
A prominent social media influencer in Mali was detained Wednesday after lambasting the ruling military junta as a...
Mali regime to miss deadline to return to civilian rule, postpones constitutional referendum
Mali's ruling junta will postpone a constitutional referendum but maintain a previously agreed timeline to return to...
Mali: Religious leaders reject draft constitution calling for secularism
An influential organisation of religious leaders in Mali on Tuesday called on its followers to reject a new...
France to scale back military presence in Africa
By Valerie Leroux: President Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced a "noticeable reduction" of French troop presence in...
Niger: Soldiers sent to prison for attempted coup
A Niger court on Friday handed prison terms ranging from two to 20 years to several soldiers accused of attempting to...
Sahel: The sad plight of children in the Sahel’s conflict zones
By Amaury Hauchard: After fleeing the jihadists who threatened their remote village, Aichata Hassan had no idea that...
Sahel: Russia seeks greater influence over Mauritania, offers support
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday offered support for Mauritania in the fight against jihadism in...
Sahel and West Africa junta regimes seek reentry to regional blocs
Foreign ministers from three West African countries that have undergone military coups called for their reinstatement...
Sahel: Mali fires six senior army officers, including top army leader, as Tuareg groups in the north unify
Six senior Malian military officers, including the army chief of staff and head of the national guard, were relieved...
Sahel: Russia looks to deepen influence in the Sahel with foreign minister’s visit to Mali
Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov arrives in Mali late Monday for talks with its junta leaders seeking Moscow's...
Sahel: Mali expels head of the human rights division of UN’s MINUSMA mission
UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Monday slammed Mali's expulsion of the top rights representative in the troubled...
Sahel: Niger holds activist in air strike case
The head of a leading campaign group in Niger has been detained in a case involving an army air strike on suspected...
Mauritania: Trial over corruption of ex-president Abdelaziz begins this week
By Laurent Lozano and Hademine Sadi: Mauritania's ex-president Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz goes on trial on graft charges...
Sahel: Opposition parties in Chad allowed to resume activity
Chad has lifted the suspension of political activities by several opposition parties imposed following a violent...
Sahel: UN peacekeeping mission in Mali at risk amid shortage of troops
By Amélie Bottolier-Depois: The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali is "unsustainable" without more personnel, according...
Mali: Tear gas fired as influential Malian imam returns
Followers of an influential Malian imam on Sunday called for the country's ruling junta to explain the use of tear gas...
Sahel: Mali avoids escalating regional crisis by pardoning jailed Ivorian soldiers
Mali's junta leader on Friday pardoned all 49 Ivorian soldiers whose arrest in July triggered a bitter diplomatic row,...
Sahel: Regime in Chad said it thwarted a coup
The government in Chad said Thursday that it had foiled an "attempted destabilisation" plot by army officers and a...
Mauritania: Ex President Ould Abdel Aziz prevented from leaving country amid corruption probe
Mauritania's ex-president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who faces a trial for alleged corruption, said on Thursday that he...
Sahel: Top UN rep in Burkina Faso declared “persona non grata”, asked to leave
Burkina Faso has ordered the UN's coordinator in the country to leave by the end of the day, declaring her "persona...
Sahel: Security conditions to worsen in northern Mali as peace deal collapses
Almost all armed groups in Mali that signed a major peace deal in 2015 suspended their participation in the agreement ...
Gambia, another West African nation, headed toward turmoil
The Gambia's government on Wednesday said it had thwarted a coup attempt the previous day and arrested four soldiers....
Sahel: Germany threatens withdrawal of troops from Mali by 2024
German forces will stay in Mali until 2024 only if the junta allows them to operate freely and elections are held,...
Sahel: Court in Chad jails hundreds for alleged involvement in riots
By Ali Abba Kaya A Chadian court has handed jail terms of between two and three years to 262 people who were arrested...
Mali: Joliba TV resumes broadcasting after two month suspension by junta
Mali's communications authority said Thursday it had lifted the suspension of one of the Sahel country's main news...
Sahel: Lawyers in Chad to boycott trials of hundreds of anti-government protesters
Lawyers in Chad have vowed to stop work during a mass trial, due to start Tuesday, of more than 400 people detained...
Sahel: Six arrested and massive protest in Mali over video deemed anti-Islamic
Thousands of demonstrators thronged Mali's capital Bamako on Friday to protest the publication of a video on social...
Sahel: Rights watchdog urges independent probe into Chad deaths
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Chad to let outside investigators probe clashes last week between security forces...
Burkina Faso announces new government
Burkina Faso's new government on Wednesday declared its top priority would be to secure the nation's territory, after...
Sahel: 50 civilians killed in anti-junta protests in Chad
Djimet Wiche: Tensions eased in Chad on Friday following a day of unprecedented violence at protests that left around...
Burkina Faso coup leader Ibrahim Traore crows himself country’s president
Captain Ibrahim Traore was appointed as president of Burkina Faso on Wednesday, according to an official statement,...
Sahel: Anti-France protestors brandish Russian flags in Ouagadougou
By Armel Baily and Amaury Hauchard: Several dozen protestors waving Russian flags rallied in Burkina Faso's capital...
Burkina Faso: Deposed junta leader Colonel Damiba steps down, flees to Togo
By Olympia de Maismont with Pierre Donadieu in Abidjan: Burkina Faso's junta leader agreed to step down on Sunday,...
Sahel: Burkina Faso coup leader removed by another coup
By Olympia de Maismont with Pierre Donadieu in Abidjan: Security forces fired tear gas to disperse angry protesters...
Sahel: Regime in Chad abandons path to democracy, junta leader Deby seeks perpetual reign
Chad on Saturday extended the transition period to democratic elections and agreed junta leader Mahamat Idriss Deby...
Sahel: Uncertainty in Ouagadougou as Burkina Faso descends into chaos
By Olympia de Maismont with Pierre Donadieu in Abidjan: Shots rang out before dawn on Friday around Burkina Faso's...
Sahel: Chad’s Foreign Minister Zene Cherif resigns for being sidelined in peace talks
Chad's foreign minister resigned on Monday, accusing the ruling junta of sidelining him at a key forum aimed at...
Sahel: Chad’s peace negotiations resume after rebel chief Erdimi was released by Egypt
A leading Chadian rebel flew home on Friday to join talks on the country's political future, after spending nearly two...